Garbage disposal truck



March 25, 1958 H. VANDER `VEEN 2,828,082

f y GARBAGE DISPOSAL TRUCK v Fil-ved Nov. 19, 1954 2 sheets-sheet 1Dvx/ENTOR. mea/n f4/voe@ ves/v ABY March 25, 1958 l H. VANDER VEEN2,828,082

` GARBAGE: DISPOSAL TRUCK Filed Nov. 19, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 aLl/2.4M'val/vase ves/v United States Patent GARBAGE DISPOSAL TRUCK Hiram VanderVeen, Berwyn, Ill.

Application November 19, 1954, Serial No. 470,006 1 Claim. (ci. 241-46)This invention relates to devices for garbage disposal purposes, andmore particularly has reference to a garbage collection disposal truckfor collecting untreated garbage and grinding the garbage with water andushing the ground garbage down a sewer manhole or the like.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a practical andefficient device of this kind which reduces the work and expense ofmunicipal collection and disposal of garbage and enables a smallernumber of trucks to accomplish collection and disposal of garbage in amunicipality.

Another object of the invention is to provide in a device of this kind agrinding unit which is easily installed on existing garbage collectiontrucks, the unit being eilicient and reliable in operation, beingcapable of easy installation, and being capable of being made inmechanically eicient and easily served forms at relatively low cost.

Other objects of the invention will appear from Vthe followingdescription, and from the accompanying drawings, in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

Figurc l is a fragmentary side elevational view of a device inaccordance with the present invention showing it in relation to afire-plug and a sewer manhole;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal sectional view taken online 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view, on the scale of Figure3, taken on line 4 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical sectional view on line 5-5 of Figure3; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view on line6--6 of Figure 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, a garbage collection truck 10 isillustrated in Figure 2 as having a power take oir shaft 12 extending tothe rear thereof and terminating in a gear box 14 from which extends alateral shaft 16 having on its laterally outward end a drive sprocket 18about which is trained a sprocket chain 20. The truck 10 has a back wall11 having in the lower part thereof a discharge opening 13 normallyclosed by a vertically movable gate 15. The floor 17 of the truckterminates at its rear end in a rearwardly declining lip 19 forming thebottom of the discharge opening 13. A chassis cross member 21 at therear of the truck 10 underlies the floor 17 in the region of the backwall 11, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. In accordance with the presentinvention, a garbage disposal device, generally designated 29, ismounted on the rear side of the truck cross member 21, beneath thegarbage discharge opening 13. The device 29 comprises a horizontallyelongated housing 32 having a front wall 31, a rear wall 33, a bottomwall 35, and atop wall 37. The top wall 37 has therein an elongatedopening 39' into which the declining lip 19 extends.r

Within the housing 32 are first and second vertical par- ICC ing chamber43, and the partition walls are inwardly spaced from related ends of thehousing, which have thereon inwardly projecting flanges 45 and 47,respectively. Vertical end plates 49 and 51 are secured to the flanges45 and 47 and close the ends of the housing 32.

In the upper part of the grinding chamber 43 is a pair of meshed helicalgrinding rolls 44 and 46 which are journaled at one end in the partitionwall 41, as indicated at 49. The rolls reach to the partition wall 39and have shafts 40 extending therethrough in bearings 51 on the wall 39.In the space between the partition wall 39 and the end plate 49, servingas a gear case, one of the shafts 40 has thereon a gear 36 which is inmesh with a pinion'34 on a shaft 24 which is journaled in bearing 53 onthe partition wall 39 and a bearing 26 on the end plate 49. On its outerend the shaft 24 has a sprocket wheel 22 over which is trained the chain20. The grinding rolls 44 and 46 have threads 55 which are meshed sothat the rolls rotate together.

Declining guide plates 48 and 50 on the upper ends of t the `housingfront and rear walls 31 and 33 have free titicn walls 39 and 41 whichdene therebetween a grindedges closely spaced from adjacent sides of thetops of the rolls 44 and 46, as shown in Figure 4, whereby garbageemerging from the truck discharge opening 13 is guided onto the rolls.

Centered beneath the rolls 44 and 46 is a screw conveyor 66, having astub shaft 42 on one end journaled through the partition wall 39 in abearing 57 and having thereon a gear 38 in mesh with the pinion 34. Onthe other end of the conveyor is a stub shaft 59 which is journaledthrough a foraminous plate 70 secured to the outer side of the partitionwall 41 across an opening 68 in this wall, whereby garbage ground by therolls 44 and 46 is conveyed by the conveyor 66 and forced through theforaminous plate 70 into the discharge chamber 61 defined between thepartition wall 41 andthe housing end plate 51. A nozzle 76 depends fromthe housing bottom wall at the discharge chamber 61, and a flexible hose78 has one end secured around the nozzle 76 and a free end 77 adapted tobe positioned in a sewer manhole S.

The housing bottom wall 35 is interrupted between the partition walls 39and 41 and thereat takes the form of a V-shaped trough 67, as shown inFigure 4, with the conveyor 66 occupying the apex portion 79 thereof.

Secured at its ends upon the top wall-37 of the housing 32, as indicatedat 79, and extending forwardly partly across the opening 39' in thehousing top wall 37 which extends between the partition walls 39 and 41,is a water spray nozzle 56 which includes a perforated flat bottom wall60 and an imperforate top wall 83, with a central fitting 62 on the rearthereof, to which is connected one end of a water hose 64 whose otherend is adapted to be connected to a lire hydrant H or other source ofwater under pressure.

When the power take-olf 12 is in operation and the gate 15 open andgarbage falling through the truck back wall opening 13 into the opening39 of the housing 32, with water being sprayed by the nozzle 56, thegarbage will be ground by the rolls 44 and 46 and pass downwardlytherebetween and be forced, together with entrained water, through theforaminous plate 70, into the discharge chamber 61, and dischargedthrough the hose 78 into the sewer opening S.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily continedto the specic use or uses thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principles, it being considered that Athe invention comprehendsany minor change in construe tin' that'fmayf be-permitted'within thescope of the appended t claim. Y Y

What is claimed is:

In the garbage disposalunit, a horizontally elongated I 5 said dischargechamber, a foramlnous plate secured across housing having top, bottom,and 'frontVand-rearlwalls and ends, firstand second verticalpartitionwall'sfin` said housing extending between said wallsand'lspacedinwardly from saidends, said partitionwallsdefiningl aggrinding chambertherebetween andsaid'top wall having an intake opening*Y extendingbetween said partitionpwal-ls, 1a pair of meshed threaded grindingrolls'inthe `upper-part of said grinding chamber, said rollshaving`oneend journaledinsaidsecond partitionwalls and stub'lshaftsjournaledthrough said first partition-wall, end plates secured toand'closing the ends of they housing-andldeninga gear case with saidfirst partition wall andia discharge chamber withy said secondpartitionwall, oneofthe grinding roll shafts having a gear thereon in said*gearcase, a drive shaft journaledthrough the end plateofpthe gearcaseandhaving a pinion-in the gear casemeshed with the roll shaftpinion, said housing bottornlwall-being` interrupted lbetween said firstand second partition-wa11s-and formed into a V-shaped trough havingan-apex,al screw conveyor positioned in the apex'ofvthetroughiandfhaving a first stub shaft ljournaled throughsaidfrstpartitio'iirwallj 2,828,082 A "e e K f M .i 4i i and havingY thereon agear in mesh with said pinion in the -gear case, saidconveyor having asecondV stub shaft, said second partition wall having a dischargeopening providing communication between said grinding chamber and ingbottom wall at said dischargeichamber, and a water nozzle mounted `uponthelhousingptop wall and extend- 10 ing lengthwise of-thegarbage-intakeopening and partially across the intake openingrfromthe rear vwall ofthe housing.

Reference-s Cited the Vfile of` this patent 15 UNITED STATES PATENTS1,218,634 Dodds Mar. 13, 1917 1,459,713 Beggs .Tune 26, 1923 2,047,005,Coscia .luly 7,., 1936 2,198,547 '1, Mar`h, Apr. 23, 1940 2,446,073Bjorklund, f .lub/ 27,1948 2,594,054- McNamararetal. 'Apr. 22,19522,594,635V Gamaunt v.' Apr. 29,1952 2,670,774

Higer Mar. 22,195.4

